KYIV: Ukraine shot down 45 Russian drones overnight as the pro-Western country rang in the New Year, the air force said on Sunday.
In a New Year’s Eve assault, Moscow attacked Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with missiles and Iranian-made drones.
Ukraine’s air force said in a statement that air defenses destroyed 45 “Shahed” drones.
Thirteen drones were shot down at the end of 2022 and another 32 in the new year, the statement said.
Ukrainian authorities did not say if some of the drones reached their targets.
Andriy Nebitov, the head of the Kyiv police, posted on Facebook a picture of wreckage of a downed drone that featured the words “Happy New Year” in Russian.
“That is everything you need to know about the terror state and its army,” he wrote.
The attacks came as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 11th month.
After a series of humiliating military defeats, Russia in October began targeting Ukraine’s infrastructure, leaving millions in the cold and dark.
Ukraine shoots down 45 drones: air force
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Ukraine shoots down 45 drones: air force
- The attacks came as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 11th month
North Korea says it respects Iran’s choice of new supreme leader: KCNA
- North Korea, a longstanding US adversary, has previously condemned the US-Israeli attack on Iran an “illegal act of aggression”
- Defying US President Donald Trump’s desire to have a say in who runs Iran, the Islamic republic on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, longtime ruler Ali Khamenei, who died in an Israeli airstrike on February 28
SEOUL: North Korea respects Iran’s choice of new supreme leader, state media reported Wednesday, as it accused the United States and Israel of destroying regional peace.
“With regard to the recent official announcement that Iran’s Assembly of Experts elected the new leader of the Islamic Revolution, we respect the rights and choice of the Iranian people to elect their supreme leader,” an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying by state news agency KCNA.
Defying US President Donald Trump’s desire to have a say in who runs Iran, the Islamic republic on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, longtime ruler Ali Khamenei, who died in an Israeli airstrike on February 28.
North Korea, a longstanding US adversary, has previously condemned the US-Israeli attack on Iran an “illegal act of aggression.”
On Wednesday, the North Korean spokesperson reiterated that position, saying that the United States and Israel “are destroying the regional peace and security foundations and escalating instability worldwide.”
“Any rhetorical threats and military action, which violate the political system and territorial integrity of the relevant country, interfere in its internal affairs and openly advocate the attempt to overthrow its social system, deserve worldwide criticism and rejection as they can never be tolerated,” the spokesperson added.
In recent months, the Trump administration has mounted a push to revive high-level talks with Pyongyang, eyeing a potential summit between the US president and the North’s Kim Jong Un this year.
After largely ignoring those overtures for months, Kim recently said that the two nations could “get along” if Washington accepted Pyongyang’s nuclear status.
